Town file
Chugiak, Alaska
Chugiak, Alaska is the town in one episode of Small Town Murder, the comedy true-crime podcast: episode 594, "Family Murder Spree" (3 May 2025). Shortly after 9.30pm on 19 October 1990, three eighteen-year-olds from the Chugiak area north of Anchorage set out for a night in town.
- Town
- Chugiak
- State
- Alaska
- Country
- USA
- Episodes
- 594
- Approximate location
- 61.374, -149.495
Episode 594 / 3 May 2025 / 71 min / express
Family Murder Spree
"we're going up to alaska this week... who chugiak... c-h-u-g-i-a-k alaska" about 0:03:10
The case: Murder of Jeffrey Kane (October 19, 1990); Murder of David Kerr (September 17, 1991). Read the case file.
The figures, as told in 2025
- Population
- 6,563
- Median household income
- $143,312
- Median home value
- $417,563
History, in brief
- The area along the Palmer Highway had been home to the Dena'ina Athabascans for thousands of years. about 0:05:07
- The settlement was named Chugiak in 1947 by non-native arrivals. about 0:05:23
- The name is said to come from a Native word meaning 'place of many places'. about 0:05:31
- Chugiak was first heavily settled in the 1950s, mainly by former military personnel who had been stationed in Alaska during the Second World War and stayed. about 0:05:54
- It grew as a suburban expansion of Anchorage. about 0:06:08
The reviews read out
5 stars
"A small-town neighbourhood and close community that bands together when needed; everyone knows everyone and looks out for each other."about 0:06:18
4 stars
"There are positives and negatives to small-town life, but plenty of activities, the favourite being a top-notch community band open to anyone."about 0:06:44
4 stars
"A suburb of Anchorage surrounded by ocean and mountains, good for skiing, hiking, kayaking, fishing and hunting; safe with many parks, little nightlife but Anchorage twenty minutes away."about 0:07:11
Nearest Small Town Murder towns
- Palmer, Alaska20 miles
- Hope, Alaska34 miles
- McCarthy, Alaska219 miles
- Fairbanks, Alaska246 miles
- Kodiak, Alaska268 miles
- Sitka, Alaska581 miles
Everything here is as told in the episode, on the date it went out; figures and places may have changed since. Endings are covered: open an episode and use the spoiler switch to read them.